First Time Out
by Sarah1281
Summary: During Anders' first escape attempt, he decides that the best thing to do is to get an earring. They looked awesome and would serve as a reminder that he didn't belong in the Tower. He only wished he was a little more certain she knew what she was doing.


First Time Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age.

Note: The prompt was Anders and earring.

It was the first time Anders had been outside since the day he had been dragged kicking and screaming – yet still manly and suave – to that phallic prison called the Circle Tower five years ago and the very first thing he'd done before heading to Denerim was to ditch the ungodly yellow robes he'd been forced to wear and did his complexion no favors. He hadn't really been planning on leaving when he did but if the Templars were going to be stupid enough to give him an opportunity then he was most certainly going to take it. He supposed that, to be fair, most mages that survived their Harrowing were passed out for hours and not in need of immediate guarding. More the fool them, really. His Harrowing had been easy and he was really starting to wonder why there was such a high death rate. All he had had to do was tell a demon that yes he was sure he wouldn't like to be possessed and then shoot fire at it for awhile once it decided not to take no for an answer.

While everyone knew that Anders was not happy in the Tower, he'd never attempted to escape before and that had certainly made things easier as if he was a known flight risk than they probably would have made sure to keep someone around to guard him, unconscious or not. Nineteen was only a little on the young side to be undergoing his Harrowing but considering he'd only been at the tower since he was fourteen, his progress was remarkable. From the moment the Templars had realized what he could do, Anders had wanted to escape from them more than anything…except becoming a Tranquil. Nothing would be worth that. Fortunately, the Templars had a policy of not making anybody Tranquil once they had gone through their Harrowing and they weren't allowed to be officially executed unless there was reason to suspect them of being a blood mage. That still left overzealous Templars killing those who had left 'in the line of duty', unfortunately, but if he were caught and returned to the Circle alive he wouldn't need to worry about losing his life. Good thing, too. If this first attempt to escape didn't work out – and it probably wouldn't as he was still new at this – then he fully intended to escape again at the next available opportunity and continuing to do so until he was free or dead. Personally, he'd prefer the former.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" the bartender asked idly as she placed another glass in front of Anders.

Anders snorted. "It's a bit late to be worrying about something like that, I'd say."

"Well, it's almost closing time and I don't want to have to deal with any guards who you drunkenly stumble upon who want to know why I'm serving alcohol to someone underage," the bartender explained. A golden earring flashed in the lamp light as she turned.

Anders looked on with great interest. He'd always had a bit of a fascination with earrings but his parents wouldn't hear of letting him get a piercing. They were always so afraid of him doing something to draw attention to himself, even just by having an uncommon aspect to his appearance, and Anders had to admit that they probably had a point. If they hadn't died then there was every chance that the Circle Tower would have remained a distant fear for him instead of an ugly and utterly boring reality.

The bartender caught him staring. "See something you like?"

Anders nodded. "I was just admiring your earrings."

The bartender laughed. "My **earrings**. Right."

He really had been but knew that any further protest from him would just further convince her that it was a hasty cover story. "I wish I had an earring," he said wistfully.

The bartender looked at him consideringly. "Tell you what, kid. You're cute and you've kept me entertained all night so if you wait until I close up then _I'll_ pierce your ears or just one if you prefer."

Anders bit his lower lip, thinking the proposal over. No one liked to be called a kid – especially by a pretty woman like the one in front of him – even if one was only nineteen. On the other hand, her proposal was a tempting one. He couldn't think of _anyone_ in the Tower who had an earring. Something as awesome as that really seemed to have no place in the Tower. As it happened, Anders had always been of the opinion that someone as awesome as _him_ had no place in the Tower either. This would be just perfect: an actual physical reminder of how much he didn't belong there.

Anders smirked. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, Anders was admiring his new earring in a hand mirror that the bartender had supplied. She hadn't had any extra on hand but for ten silver he was able to purchase one of hers. He had gotten a little nervous when she took out a match, a needle, and a cork but she had assured him that she knew what she was doing and, as she was the one with earring experience and not him, he had decided to trust her.

The needle was passed through the flame to clean it and the cork was placed behind his ear to stop the needle once it had gone through. He had to admit, he was rather anxious to get it over and done with as it _really_ didn't seem very professional but it had only stung for a few moments. She told him that he'd need to keep the earring in for a few weeks and he had no intention of doing so because half the fun of having this new earring would be seeing all of the reactions and how could he do that if he weren't wearing it?

He had ultimately decided to only pierce one ear as that had struck him as more stylish (not that the mages with their hideously unflattering robes or the Templars with their bucket helmets would know anything about _that_) and had chosen his right ear as he had thought that looked better after holding up the earring to both sides.

Anders looked up from his reflection – it was difficult to do but he managed somehow – and found the bartender smiling at him. There was a look in her eyes that both intrigued and excited him. It wasn't anything near as desperate as those looks he'd seen in the Circle. "Thank you for doing this," he told her sincerely. "I really appreciate it."

"Glad to help," she said huskily. "It looks good on you. Since this proposal has turned out so well, I have another one for you."

Anders raised his eyebrows and smirked again. He could see where this was going. "Oh?"

The bartender nodded and looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. "Indeed. How about we-"

That was when the Templars found him. Those bucket-headed bastards either had the _worst_ sense of timing or they did it on purpose. Still, at least he had gotten an earring out of the deal and he could always come back on his next trip out…

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